Canadian Lawyer

24 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m o understand Ian McPhail's career path, you have to take a step or two back in the fam- ily tree. McPhail's grandfather was a first- generation Canadian, born here to parents who came over from Scot- land. Growing up in Sault Saint Marie, Ont., John McPhail spoke Gaelic until he went to school, but he quickly learned English and went on to become active in law, business and politics. Eventually, he became a driving force in his northern community — and an inspiration to his grandson. The elder McPhail played a role in developing hydro-electric towers in the area and when Algoma Steel was going under in the face of the Great Depression, he ended up as one of the receivers. He was able to arrange for people to come in and rescue it, and the company still exists today. "I think to a large extent through his efforts, Sault Saint Marie became a prosper- ous community," says McPhail, who also grew up in the community before going away for school. "It showed me that one person who can assemble a good team can make a significant difference." This conviction informed his choices after he graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1970. Although McPhail started out working with a bigger firm, what was then Blackwell Law in Toronto, it didn't take him long to realize he could explore his other interests if he went out on his own — he established McPhail Law in 1972. He was looking for the independence that would allow him "to do different projects that might not have fit that well with a larger firm," he explains. He then began to build up his firm, where he practises estate law, and was even- tually appointed a federal Queen's Counsel in 1992. In 1999, McPhail put his private practice on hold to serve on the boards of various organizations. He was chairman of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, chair- man of the Environmental Review Tribu- nal and also served as acting chairman of the Ontario Educational Communications Authority (TV Ontario). McPhail is also a recipient of the Ontario Bicentennial Medal and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal. The goal of his many and varied com- mitments has always been to protect the public interest. "I always had an interest in public pol- icy in a lot of different areas," he says, not- ing that while growing up he would pay close attention when issues were discussed around the dinner table at home. "Don't get me wrong, I enjoy law prac- tice, too; I just also think legal training and legal experience is a great background for so many other areas," he says. "I never viewed any of these other jobs as careers. "They're something you can take time off to do and I enjoyed every one of them. I learned a lot." When asked what his favourite or most memorable position was, McPhail says his first role with TV Ontario stands out. He was a member of the board when then- C R O S S E X A M I N E D T Despite challenges, Ian McPhail says Canadians should be proud of the commission he led to investigate workplace harassment in the RCMP By Mallory Hendry Real oversight

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